Presentation Title

Presenter Information

Document Type

Panel Presentation

Keywords

Syria, refugees, terrorism

Biography

My name is Michael Heath Fields and I was born in Huntington, West Virginia. I spent most of my life living in Chesapeake, Ohio until recently when I moved back into Huntington. I am attending Marshall University to receive my B.A. in Geography. When I graduate I hope to find a career involving GIS or planning.

Major

B.A. Geography

Advisor for this project

Dr. Anita Walz

Start Date

20-4-2017 9:15 AM

End Date

20-4-2017 10:30 AM

Abstract

The Syrian Civil War has been an ongoing conflict and struggle since it began in 2011. Syrian’s may have been unsatisfied with the dictatorship that they were subject to, but certainly they had never hoped for this “revolution” to have such a negative impact on the country and their lives. Thus, the civil war has spawned millions of refugees from Syria. Despite these existing problems, the United States under President Trump decided to take in Syrian refugees no longer. Is there a real justification for this action?

Answering this question requires one to consider why we would fear these refugees in the first place. The main reason for the United States to fear these refugees is the belief that they could be potential Islamic terrorists. To find out if there is any reason to be worried, all the recent terrorist attacks were studied, which was luckily made easier by the recent list that the White House released. What was discovered is that out of more than 70 terrorist attacks that were recorded in the last 2 years, only 7 occurred in the United States, mostly by U.S. born perpetrators, and none of these were committed by Syrians, who only were responsible of three of the more than 70 attacks. What this means is that Islamic terrorism and terrorism in general can originate from all over the world and not just these select few areas that we are labeling as dangerous zones.

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Apr 20th, 9:15 AMApr 20th, 10:30 AM

Syrian Refugees: Morality or Security?

The Syrian Civil War has been an ongoing conflict and struggle since it began in 2011. Syrian’s may have been unsatisfied with the dictatorship that they were subject to, but certainly they had never hoped for this “revolution” to have such a negative impact on the country and their lives. Thus, the civil war has spawned millions of refugees from Syria. Despite these existing problems, the United States under President Trump decided to take in Syrian refugees no longer. Is there a real justification for this action?

Answering this question requires one to consider why we would fear these refugees in the first place. The main reason for the United States to fear these refugees is the belief that they could be potential Islamic terrorists. To find out if there is any reason to be worried, all the recent terrorist attacks were studied, which was luckily made easier by the recent list that the White House released. What was discovered is that out of more than 70 terrorist attacks that were recorded in the last 2 years, only 7 occurred in the United States, mostly by U.S. born perpetrators, and none of these were committed by Syrians, who only were responsible of three of the more than 70 attacks. What this means is that Islamic terrorism and terrorism in general can originate from all over the world and not just these select few areas that we are labeling as dangerous zones.